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Friday, June 5, 2015

"... one in a long line of conservatives attempting to rationalize the groundswell of support for the President by questioning the intelligence of Democratic voters."

...................................................................................................................................................................COMMENTS: * O'Reilly is often wrong, this time is a perfect example. Anyone who doesn't think like him is a 'loon' and just doesn't get it. Never mind that the ideas and practices HE advocates won't work. The huge amounts of SPIN in his 'no spin' zone is laughable. * O'Reilly isn't wrong, half the country ARE simpletons. He should know, they're his viewers.* Right, it has nothing to do with the old, white racist farts (a/k/a the Republican Base) dying off.* Billo doesn't even know how the tides work, so who's a simpleton really? * I believe there is a recognised psychological trend that the most simple minded tend to be paradoxically the most secure in their belief in their intellectual superiority over others. I think it is associated with an inability to empathise with others. * You're absolutely right! It's called the Dunning-Kruger Effect! The most skilled individuals judge themselves as less competent, and the most unskilled (read: simple) judge themselves as more competent! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect
...................................................................................................................................................................Fox News Host Has Outrageous Reason Progressive Ideas Are Getting More Popular
By Alice Ollstein, May 28, 2015

For the first time since Gallup pollsters began tracking, the country is evenly split between those who identify as liberals versus conservatives. It’s a major drop for conservatives, who in 1999 outweighed liberals two-to-one. Analysts have cited many factors for the steady, multi-decade rise of self-identified progressives in the U.S., including increased acceptance of same-sex marriage and legal marijuana, but Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has his own theory.

“Only about 50 percent of the American people take the time to understand important issues,” he said on his show this week. “Half the country does not; they are simpletons, unwilling and unable to discipline themselves into formulating a philosophy of life.”

O’Reilly added that those who supported President Obama in 2008 and 2012 must not have “grasped” his policies, and only cast their votes for him “because of his charisma and his historic position as the first black man to achieve the White House.”

The comment is just one in a long line of conservatives attempting to rationalize the groundswell of support for the President by questioning the intelligence of Democratic voters. Mitt Romney infamously quipped that “47 percent” of Americans vote Democrat only because they want handouts. Georgia Republican lawmakers justified cutting early voting — which Democratic voters disproportionately use — by suggesting that those who vote before Election Day are ignorant about the issues and candidates on the ballot.

Yet as the raw data indicates, it’s support for a host of progressive policies that has driven this change — with support rising across the country for same-sex marriage, legal marijuana, abolishing the death penalty, and gun control. Though it wasn’t included in this particular poll, support for other progressive policies has also increased, including raising the minimum wage, offering all workers paid sick days, and renewable energy sources.
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